Volume 27, Issue 135, May 2023

The impact of alternate shifts on emergency doctors' work satisfaction and quality of life in Riyadh region

Abdullah AA Bahmaid^1♦, Khalid AM Alotaibi², Omar AJ Aljasser², Abdulrahman M Alharthi³, Ashjan YB Almohaimeed⁴, Muath AA Al-Mansour², Renad OA Alhegail², Feras H Alotaibi⁵, Mohammed AM Almuhanna⁶

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
²Medical Student, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
³Medical Student, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁴Medical Student, College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia
⁵General Practitioner, Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia
⁶General Practitioner, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ad Diriyah hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Emergency Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
ORCID: 0009-0009-4568-4788

ABSTRACT

Objective: Emergency departments (EDs) in Saudi Arabia have experienced a tremendous increase in patient flow, resulting in increased workloads and decreased satisfaction among emergency physicians (EPs). We aimed to analyze the impact of alternate shifts on Saudi emergency doctors, determine the rate of life satisfaction of those affected and assess the effect of alternating shifts on the quality of their life. Methods: This study explored the impact of the alternate shift system on the work satisfaction and quality of Saudi emergency doctors. This study was carried out among 162 emergency physicians employed in emergency departments in different hospitals in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. The survey was distributed online and included questions about demographics, satisfaction with job and quality of care and experience with alternate shifts and the results were analyzed using frequency analysis. Results: The results showed that the majority of emergency doctors reported a high level of job satisfaction and quality of care. Additionally, 63% of respondents agreed that alternating shifts ever forced them to consider leaving EM as well as 57% of the respondents agreed that alternating shifts had adversely affected their family and social life. Conclusions: Alternate shift changes have a moderate to significantly unfavorable effect on EM doctors' social, familial and physical well-being, according to the current study. However, as seen by their high level of career satisfaction, this did not make the doctors consider leaving EM.

Keywords: Alternate shifts, Saudi Arabia, Saudi emergency doctors, work satisfaction, quality of service

Medical Science, 2023, 27, e220ms2990

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v27i135/e220ms2990

Published: 12 May 2023